Arbitrage is an obsolete Business Model

2016 is the year that Non Human traffic (NHT) and bot traffic came to an end. Well not really, but the days of spending money on non human traffic is coming to an end. The tools and sophistication of tech and processes in Display Advertising, has made it an unprofitable business model. Demand side, supply side, exchanges and the ad partners along the supply-demand chain, have traffic quality tools and teams to make sure that there is a transparency in the online advertising ecosystem.

Demand Gone bye bye

I would propose to all publishers to carefully consider changes in your traffic sources and volumes and monitor your traffic quality – as if you’ like to continue earning ad dollars. I’ve seen first hand the changes in demand dollars being shifted to sites with better quality traffic.

High traffic sites aren’t the only priority for demand sources. Traffic Quality teams are like a separate entity within that cannot be manipulated. They’re not based on relationships – but hard evidence. The percentage of Bot traffic during a time period. And based on this data, publishers, specifically mid tiers are removed from demand sources as well removed from major exchanges in the US, UK and Europe.

Considerations for Publishers Traffic Acquisition Strategies

Arbitrage Revenue Based Model – forget it. It’s not sustainable for much longer. Get out.

Stricter Standards: Demand Side: Ad dollar All of us are now focused on traffic quality when qualifying new ad partners and we have the tools to do that immediately.. and no we aren’t sharing that info with everyone.

OpenX / Spot X. if you’re blacklisted from OpenX you can forget about generating any demand from the US. And If you are blacklisted from SpotX, you can forget about EU ad dollars.

Reputation of your website. It’s a small but global ecosystem. Don’t get blacklisted.

(Bonus) Mid Tier networks: very susceptible to a lost revenue source. The demand side is requiring the best inventory.

Entertainment Vertical is Dead

Some verticals are more susceptible to NHT and bot traffic like Entertainment based sites. For traffic quality teams, and business development teams, and when I prospect for new partners, red flags go off now when onboarding a new publisher in the Entertainment vertical. We watch all traffic closely, but especially the Entertainment vertical. It’s time for a wakeup call… ring.. ring.. “Publishers, get your traffic quality in line with global standards and keep earning ad revenue – or go back to SEO.”

Merci d'avoir lu. suggestions?

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Need the advantage of an advertising consultant and business development manager, with a speciality in Display or Mobile Advertising? My name is Marc Joffe and I can help manage your display inventory or create new demand for your advertising space. As a Publisher Advocate that’s what I love to do. Je travaille de Vancouver, Canada et font encore un grand "toastie." Dutch @adopsonline. I vlog about display, seo and marketing. Subscribe to my new ad supported youTube channel